Isha Khan

Isha Khan (she/her) is a lawyer and community leader whose extensive career has been dedicated to promoting and protecting human rights, dignity and equality in Canada and beyond. Since being appointed CEO of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in 2020, she has led change focused on engaging deeply with community to build a better understanding of human rights through storytelling, transformational experiences and by modeling a culture of respect for human rights.

Isha holds degrees from the University of Manitoba and the University of Victoria. She worked in private practice as a lawyer in Calgary before returning to Winnipeg to lead organizational development at United Way Winnipeg. At the Manitoba Human Rights Commission, she served first as legal counsel and then as Executive Director, advocating in the public’s interest on individual and systemic cases of discrimination and moving forward rights-based education initiatives. In 2019, she was appointed by the Government of Canada to review the conditions of people in solitary confinement in federal penitentiaries.

In addition to her professional accomplishments, she is a dedicated community volunteer who currently sits on the boards of the Main Street Project and Balmoral Hall School, the President’s Advisory Committee at the University of Manitoba and the executive committee of the International Network of Museums for Peace.

Throughout her life, Khan has helped build communities where everyone is respected and valued. She continues that work at the Museum, helping to advance the public’s understanding of human rights through storytelling, and engaging new ways of working in museums, arts and culture and beyond.

Photo: Thomas Fricke